Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Things have been pretty hand-to-mouth ever since The Feared Redhead had The Lad back in January. My paycheck has paid the bills, but we've had to rely on credit cards to buy food. But the line of credit is running low, so TFR is returning to work a week earlier than planned, this coming Monday. Unfortunately, her old work doesn't have as many hours available as before (she was always part time). But anything helps.

Since The In-Laws were in town, she decided to have them babysit while she distributed her resume, hoping for a better job. She already has an interview this Saturday.

How many of you out there remember Almost Live? It was a Seattle area sketch comedy show that enjoyed national success for a while back in the 80's, and spawned the career of Bill Nye. The humor was quintessentially Northwest, a bit odd, a bit quirky, and very self-deprecating -- with characters like Speed Walker, Seattle's own superhero, and Uncle Fran, the bitter, disgruntled divorcee with a public access kids show. Very similar to the goofy, sincere humor of the Science Guy show, but with an adult edge.

Well, I still get to enjoy the humor of at least one cast member, f not in a sketch format. Pat Cashman is doing voiceovers for Jerry's, Home Improvement Center, a local two-store chain that outperforms AND outclasses national chains like Lowe's and Home Depot. And the humor, while it's only in thirty-second snippets, has Almost Live's fingerprints all over it. The commercials take some of the most bizzarre home video and old home movie footage, and gives it these odd voiceovers. In one commercial, a baby being bathed in the kitchen sink questions whether the sink was actually cleared of dishes first, informs his mother that the sink needs a new washer, and warns her, "Here come some more bubbles!" In my favorite, a couple is discussing how to paint a room. When she suggests, "How about a fresco?" his response is, "Nah, I'm not that thirsty."

First they came for Logic, and I did not speak out, for I did not think logically. Then they came for Reason, and I did not speak out, for I did not think reasonably. Then they came for Thesis and Synthesis, and I did not speak out, for I did not think synthetically. Finally they came for me, and I could no longer think for myself.